María Corina Machado won this year’s Nobel Peace Prize for her tireless fight to restore freedom in Venezuela and defeat the authoritarian regime of Nicolás Maduro. International observers say her party, the Venezuelan Democratic Movement, won last year’s elections overwhelmingly, yet Maduro has clung to power. Here Machado, her nation’s “Iron Lady,” writes from hiding to argue why the dictator must go — and why President Trump deserves thanks for his intervention.
A criminal cartel has taken over my country, and its reach now extends into the United States.
Anyone who believes this is “just another authoritarian regime” is dangerously mistaken.
This is organized crime in power, armed and bankrolled by America’s enemies.
Across the hemisphere, narco-terrorist groups and the dictators who shield them are clawing for more control.
They don’t just threaten their own nations.
This is organized crime in power, armed and bankrolled by America’s enemies.
Across the hemisphere, narco-terrorist groups and the dictators who shield them are clawing for more control.
They don’t just threaten their own nations.
They weaken democracies, poison our societies and target the United States directly.
Nowhere is this clearer than in Venezuela.
My country was once the most prosperous in Latin America: rich in oil, gas, rare earth minerals, agriculture and unmatched biodiversity.